Building your brand is more like an investment then an expense. Awareness for a company or product has to build up over years where it grows incrementally. Now more then ever in the increasing crowded marketplace you need to differentiate yourself from the competition. Informing the customer about how you are and what you do is the first step in the sales process. Great marketing and advertising gets your foot in the door, helps build customer relationships and ultimately makes it easier to close a deal. A marketing calendar assists you in introducing your marketing vehicles in a way that can drive you to your goal in a structured and thought-out manner.
Marketing is complicated. To make effective use of its many strategies and components, you have to first plan them out, and then stay organized and consistent in implementing your plan. A marketing calendar is the best way to organize your marketing activity; the calendar also serves as a working document you can revise and update throughout the plan year.
Most marketing calendars break down the weeks of a year and address the marketing objectives that will take occur in each week. A calendar will be best used if it is specific, illustrating individual promotions or events. By including the cost for each element it is easy to see at a glance which events and strategies were productive and on target. This aids you in planning your marketing in the future and refining any efforts that fell short of your expectations.
A marketing calendar also helps center your focus and allows you to see the investment and value in your marketing program. By doing this you are able to build a consistency in your planning. This again will aid you in preventing marketing lapses that cause the "feast and famine" effect that many businesses experience.
Creating and Use a Marketing Calendar?
How do you know which activities to include in your calendar? Brainstorm all the marketing ideas that make sense for your plan year but keep in mind that you can't do everything. Balance your marketing workload with the other things you need to do for your business. Plan for what you can do completely, not halfway. Also plan what you feel comfortable with, emotionally and financially. Prioritize accordingly, then place your ideas in your matrix.
Using a marketing calendar allows you to do three things with your marketing:
1. It organizes, categorizes and prioritizes your marketing initiatives and activities.
2. It offers a way for you to spot holes in your marketing activity. Too much time in between the X's in your activities leaves customers and prospects untouched. Consistency is key here, as is repetition. Don’t have gaps in your marketing.
3. It allows you to more easily evaluate your marketing efforts. Now here's the real value of this activity: When you plan the next period’s marketing, repeat what worked or what you graded highly. Fix, modify or tweak the marketing that kind of worked or that was graded at a midlevel, and eliminate the marketing that didn’t work at all.
That’s all there really is to planning your marketing with a marketing calendar. Do what works for your business. Plan it quarterly if that's easier for you than doing it monthly. Once you establish your marketing plan, keep it up on a regular basis, just like paying your bills. Consistent marketing will generate the results and sales that will help your business continue to grow.
